Career Enhancement Program

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Project Summary – Career Enhancement Program The goal of the Career Enhancement Program (CEP) is to recruit, train and retain a diverse pool of outstanding early-career investigators who are committed to pursuing translational skin cancer research. The CEP will be led by two established investigators with complementary expertise in basic (Dr. Villanueva) and clinical (Dr. Schuchter) melanoma research. Both co-Directors are committed to training and mentoring of translational investigators and have an established record of recruiting and supporting women and minorities. The CEP will primarily assist junior faculty in their career development, but more established investigators interested in refocusing their research efforts on melanoma/skin cancer could also be considered. Women and underrepresented minorities will be strongly encouraged to participate. Likewise, projects aimed at addressing health disparities and/or skin cancer subtypes more common in underrepresented minorities will be encouraged and given special consideration. A team of clinicians, educators and researchers with broad expertise in translational research will ensure implementation of the specific aims of this program. With the support of the University of Pennsylvania, the Abramson Cancer Center and The Wistar Institute, the CEP will provide junior faculty the resources and guidance needed to establish innovative and fully funded independent skin cancer research programs and become future academic leaders. The CEP will provide awardees with two years of financial support for translational research projects in skin cancer with potential promotion to full SPORE projects or independent grant support. Awardees are required to actively participate in SPORE functions, use the SPORE Core resources, and provide both formal written progress reports and oral presentations. We have established high standards and expectations for the research mentors and a formalized program of long-term awardee mentorship. The program measures success by resulting publications, funding, and ultimately career advancement and national recognition. We have an outstanding talent pool of candidates and an effective training and mentorship program that will result in an exceptional group of skin cancer researchers. Our SPORE CEP has had an outstanding record recruiting and training investigators for careers in translational skin cancer research. Our past CEP awardees have published 74 papers during the past cycle and have been highly successful in obtaining peer reviewed funding from NCI and/or other funding agencies. In addition, all past awardees have transitioned from young investigators into leading academic positions and remain in the skin cancer field.